FOR YOUR INFORMATION ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST

“Arbeit Macht Frei”

This Nazi motto means “Work Makes One Free”. This motto was posted on the gates of many Concentration Camps including Auschwitz. This told prisoners that work would rehabilitate them and be beneficial to there stay at the camp. After viewing this motto many prisoners thought that hard working prisoners would be spared to live. That was only a lie and that all prisoners would suffer the same fate. This motto also showed an example of the language the Nazis used to speak there real intention about the prisoners such as the Jews.

“Arbeit Macht Frei”. The Holocaust. 1997. Print

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Auschwitz Gates (Aebeit Macht Frei)

Auschwitz

This camp was establish by Heinrich Himmler in April 1940 and was the largest and deadliest Nazi concentration camp ever built. Located in Oswiecim, Poland Auschwitz was three camps in one a concentration camp, a labor camp, and a death camp. 1,250,000 estimated people died in Auschwitz, mostly by gas chambers. 1,100,000 Jews, 10,000 Poles, 19,000 Gypsies, and 12,000 Soviet P.O.Ws were killed in the death camp section named Birkanani of Auschwitz. I.G. Farken and Diamler Benz plants were profited by laborers from Auschwitz. On October, 7, 1944 a crematoria exploded allowing 600 prisoners escape Auschwitz. On January, 27, 1945 postwar trials were made on the staff of Auschwitz after the Soviets discovered there victims. Today Auschwitz is an museum housing the memorials for its victims .

“Auschwitz”. The Holocaust. 1997. Print

.View of the kitchen barracks, the electrified fence, and the gate at the main camp of Auschwitz (Auschwitz I). In the foreground is the sign "Arbeit Macht Frei." This photograph was taken after the liberation of the camp by Soviet forces. Auschwitz, Poland, 1945.

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Book Burning

These actions were done because of Nazis thinking Jewish writing would corrupt Germanic Aryan culture. They burned bibles, prayer books, and other examples of Jewish writing. The Nazis would also destroy the work of Jewish and some non-Jewish poets, writers, and thinkers. Many book burnings include the one organized by Josef Gobbles on May, 10, 1933. In Kalisz, Poland, biblical scrolls from the synagogue were burned. Another event took place in Prague, Poland were millions of Jewish books were burned.

“Book Burning”. The Holocaust. 1997. Print

Public burning of "un-German" books in the Opernplatz. Berlin, Germany, May 10, 1933.

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Death Marcher

These were marches done by the Nazis to get from ghetto to ghetto. These were long, brutal, and nightmare like marches. Death Marches usually either took place in the hot summers or the cold winters. The main prisoners of these marches were Jews, Hungarians, and Greeks. The prisoners would often suffer from starvation, diseases, and sometimes death. The weak and tire were mainly shot up by Nazi soldiers.

Krakowski, S. “The Death Marches”. Encyclopedia of Holocaust. 1984. Print

A view of a death march from Dachau. German civilians secretly photographed several death marches from the Dachau concentration camp as the prisoners moved slowly through the Bavarian towns of Gruenwald, Wolfratshausen, and Herbertshausen. Few civilians gave aid to the prisoners on the death marches. Germany, April 29, 1945.http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/

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Dr. Josef Mengele

Josef Mengele was born in 1911. He first joined the Nazi party in 1937. Josef later entered the Waffen-SS Medical Corps in 1940. After having success there he then became the chief physician at Auschwitz concentration camp. His first job was occupation was to choose which prisoners would live or die. Josef sent 400,000 Jews to gas chambers. His main occupation was to preform experiments on his patients including inmates, babies, and twin children. After doing so he then observed their reactions. Josef’s experiments included sterilizations, amputations, and injections. After the war he escaped to Africa, but captured and granted political asylum in Argentina from 1949-1959. Josef then escaped the asylum and fled to Paraguay then Brazil. Unfortunately he died in a swimming accident in Brazil in 1974.

“Mengele, Josef”. The Holocaust. 1997. Print

Dr. Josef Mengeleowlspace-ccm.rice.edu

Einsatzgiaepen

Early before the war the Einstazgiaepen was just local killing squad. At this time there job was to round up Jews and massacre them. In 1944, this group officially became a organized killing squad. They would usually round up Jews from ghetto to ghetto. The sick prisoners were shot up on a countryside of Germany. The healthy prisoners were basically sent to concentration camps .

Lawton, Clive, The Story of The Holocaust: Danbury, CT: Gralier Publishing, 1999. Print

Members of an Einsatzkommando (mobile killing squad) before shooting a Jewish youth. The boy's murdered family lies in front of him; the men to the left are ethnic Germans aiding the squad. Slarow, Soviet Union, July 4, 1941.http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_ph.php?MediaId=3140

Gas Chambers

This was a more efficient way for mass murder of the Jews. Gas chambers were described as tight small rooms or small tanks. The amazing thing is that I could with stain 60-40 people. The main prisoners were mental patents. These chambers could be mobile or stationary. The gas chambers carried carbon monoxide and a Nazi made chemical called Zyklon B.

Adam U. “Gas Chambers”, Encyclopedia of holocaust. 1984. Print

Gas chamber in the main camp of Auschwitz immediately after liberation. Poland, January 1945.http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_ph.php?MediaId=670

Heinrich Himmler

Heinrich Himmler was born in Munich, Germany, 1900.When he was old enough he served in the Germany army as a Officer Cadet. Heinrich later became a officer for Hitler and help establish the first concentration camp at Passau, Germany in 1933. he later became a leader of the S.S from 1943 -1945 and was in control of all the concentration camps and extermination camps. Heinrich later suffered from psychosomatic illnesses. Towards the end of the war he was captured by British troops and put on trial for mass murder in 1944. On May, 23, 1945, Heinrich committed suicide before becoming a war criminal.

“Himmler Heinrich”. Learning about Holocaust. 1999.Print

Portrait of Heinrich Himmler. http://digitalassets.ushmm.org/photoarchives/detail.aspx?id=1151275

Mein Kampf

This was a novel written by Hitler while in prison in 1924-1925. Mein Kampf later became the bible of Nazi agenda. The book was written in two volumes The Reckoning and The National Socialist Movement. The Reckoning’ written by Hitler in 1924, focused on anti-Semitism, power worship, and importance of racial purity. The National Socialist Movement, written by Hitler in 1925, was filled with philosophical analysis ideas, but compared to the other volume it lacked serious organization. In his work Hitler unveiled his plan for Aryan world domination. In 1939, %.2 million copies were sold and translated in 11 different languages.

“Mein Kampf”. The Holocaust. 1997. Print

Image ofuncyclopedia.wikia.com Mein Kampf

Rodolf Hess

Rodolf was a good friend of Hitler and his Deputy leader of the Nazi Party. He also became the minister of Hitler’s cabinet. Rodolf then took part in the Hitler’s failed Munich Coup and put in prison along with him in 1923. Rodolf later was jailed by British troops for convincing them that peace is impossible. He then attended the Nuremburg Trial of 1941 and trialed for crimes against peace , but found not guilty. In 1987, Rodolf committed suicide in West Germany.

“Hess Rudolf”. The Holocaust. 1997. Print

Rudolf Hess as a Deputy Officerbpp.org.uk

Schutzstaffel

This group was an Nazi Party Intelligence service and political police. The Schutzstaffel engaged in punishment and murder and were the main tools of terror and destruction. They dressed in black caps, had death’s head emblems, and wore black uniforms. They were thought to be Hitler’s bodyguards, but they mainly worked for Heinrich Himmler. The Schutzstaffel mainly worked in the concentration camps. They had some secondary jobs like forcing Jews to the cattle carts or preforming death marches to get to the other ghettos.

“Schutztaffel”. Learning about the Holocaust. 1994. Print

The Schutzstaffel in formationgermaniainternational.com